Cigarette-collecting mechanism



Sept. 14, 1965 G. F. PEMBROKE ETAL 3,205,635

CIGARETTE-COLLECTING MECHANISM Filed Jan. 30, 1962 A TTORA/f K United States Patent 3,205,635 CIGARETTE-CDLLECTING MECHANISM George Frederick Pembroke and James George Edward Hillman, London, England, assignors to The Molins Organisation Limited, a British company Filed Jan. 30, 1962, Ser. No. 169,757 Claims priority, application Great Britain, Feb. 8, 1961, 4,695/61 6 Claims. (Cl. 53148) This invention concerns improvements in or relating to cigarette-collecting mechanism, e.g. for automatically collecting cigarettes in containers.

One example of such mechanism is disclosed in United States patent specification No. 3,004,374. In that example, cigarettes are fed into a receptacle through which they are lowered downwardly on a moving platform, and form a stack on the platform, the stack being then pushed into an adjacent container, by a reciprocating pusher. Containers for receiving cigarettes are commonly called trays, and such containers will for convenience be referred to herein as trays.

In the example mentioned above, the pusher is arranged to be moved forwardly in a pushing stroke by a weight urging it forwardly, the pusher being held against movement by a catch device which is tripped at appropriate times by a solenoid on actuation of a switch device controlled by movements of other parts of the mechanism. To effect a quick return stroke of the pusher, a crank-operated, rocking arm is provided, which can engage an abutment on the pusher and allow the latter to move forward in a pushing stroke, and then push it back to be re-engaged by the catch device. This arrangement is satisfactory when the pushing stroke required is fairly short, but if a long pushing stroke is required, the crank-operated rocking arm must either be made inconveniently long, or must swing through a large angle with the result that the speed of the pusher varies considerably from start to finish of a stroke.

An object of the present invention is to provide apparatus for collecting cigarettes wherein cigarettes are periodically pushed from a receptacle (e.g. into an adjacent container) by a reciprocating pusher, comprising an endless, continuously movable element arranged with a substantially straight run substantially parallel to the path of the pusher, and a member carried by the element arranged to be engageable with an abutment connected to the pusher so as to be capable of effecting control over a stroke of the pusher and of enabling the pusher to move in the said stroke at a substantially constant speed.

The endless movable element may have two substantially straight, oppositely directed runs which are substantially parallel to the path of the pusher, whereby the said member can engage with the said abutment so as to be capable of effecting control over a pushing stroke of the pusher and of returning the pusher at the conclusion of a pushing stroke.

Apparatus wherein the pusher is yieldingly urged forwardly may comprise a catch to hold the pusher against forward movement until the catch is tripped, and means to trip the catch at desired times. The said member may be arranged to be engageable with the said abutment so as to be capable of causing slight backward movement of the pusher immediately prior to tripping of the catch, so as to relieve frictional pressure on the catch at the time of tripping. The member may comprise a roller and the abutment may have a curved cam surface with which the said roller engages and which provides a lead for the roller, whereby the said slight backward movement of the pusher is effected gradually.

A further object is to provide cigarette-collecting mechanism (e.g. for automatically collecting cigarettes in trays), wherein cigarettes are periodically pushed (e.g. from a receptacle into an adjacent tray) by a reciprocating pusher, comprising means to urge the pusher yieldingly forward in a pushing stroke, a catch to hold the pusher against such forward movement until the catch is tripped, an endless, continuously movable element having two substantially straight, opopsitely directed runs which are substantially parallel to the path of the pusher, and a member carried by the said element arranged to be engageable with an abutment connected to the pusher so as to be capable of enabling the pusher, when the latter is released by the catch, to move forward at a controlled, substantially constant speed in a pushing stroke, and so as to return the pusher, for re-engagement by the catch, on the conclusion of a pushing stroke.

The continuously moving element can be made as long as desired in order to enable the pusher to move in a stroke of any desired length, without any substantial speed variation.

Further objects and features of the invention will be apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, which is a side view, partly in section, of part of a cigarette-collecting mechanism.

Cigarettes are fed into two separate receptacles which are offset from each other both lengthwise and sideways, and the cigarettes form two separate stacks 1 and 2 in the two receptacles, supported on a platform 3. These two stacks are to be pushed into a single tray 4 by a pusher having a pusher plate 5, which is split into two parts, one of which engages the stack 1 and the other the stack 2, the two parts being, however, in line with each other. The stack 1 (which as viewed in the drawing is in advance of the stack 2, i.e., closer to the observer than the stack 2) is the first to be engaged by the pusher 5,

which moves the stack 1 forward, i.e., to the left in the drawing, until it is in line with the stack 2, whereafter the pusher moves both stacks simultaneously, and as a single stack, into the tray 4. Thus the pusher is required to move in a longer stroke than if the cigarettes were originally arranged in a single stack, as in the earlier arrangement mentioned above.

The pusher 5 is mounted on a number of bars 6 carried by a cross-member 7. Opposite ends of the member 7 are attached to carriages 8, which run on wheels 9 along guide rods 10. The path of the pusher is thus controlled by the guide rods 10.

Weights 11 are connected by chains 12 to the carriages 8, and urge the pusher forward in a pushing stroke. Except when it is required to push cigarettes forward, the pusher is, as will be described later, restrained from such forward movement, but when it is free to move forward, its speed is controlled by abutments 13 fixed to the cross-member 7 engaging roller members 14 carried by continuously driven chains 15, which pass about sprockets 15a and 15b, rotating in the direction shown by the arrow on the sprocket 15a shown in the drawing. It will be seen that forward movement of the pusher occurs at a time when the roller elements 14 are travelling along the lower straight run of the chains 15. After completion of its forward, pushing stroke, the pusher is then returned by the elements 14 engaging the abutments 13 while the elements 14 are travelling along the upper straight runof the chains.

In order to prevent the pusher from moving forward on every circuit of the elements 14, abutments 16 fixed on the carriages 8 are arranged to engage with catches 17 which are pivotally mounted at 18 to fixed parts of the machine. Springs 19 urge the catches 17 about their pivots so as to intercept the abutments 16 and prevent forward movement of the carriages 8 and of the pusher.

In order to trip the catches 17 at desired times when it is required for the pusher to make a pushing stroke, solenoids'21 connected to the catches 17 are arranged to be enerized by means of a switch operated by a timing shaft (not shown). When the solenoids are energized, the catches 17 are turned about their pivots to release the abutments 16. This is timed to occur at.

a time when the elements 14 are in engagement with the abutments 13 while passing around the sprockets 15a. During this engagement the elements 14 push the abutments 13 slightly to the rear so as to move the abutments 16 slightly back from the opposed faces of the catches 17, the surfaces of the abutments 13 with which the elements 14 engage being curved cam surfaces which provide a lead for the elements 14, whereby this slight rearward movement is effected gradually. This is the position in which the parts are shown in the drawing. The purpose of this arrangement is to relieve pressure between the parts 16 and 17 in order to enable the catch to be tripped easily by the solenoid when energized.

At the end of a forward stroke the pusher isstopped by front faces 22 of the carriages 8 abutting rubber washers 23 fixed to fixed brackets 24.

At the end of a return stroke the abutments 16 reengage the catches 17 and the pusher is held against forward movement until the catches 17 ,are again tripped.

It will be seen that by the arrangement described, the pushing strokes and return strokes of the pusher are made at a controlled speed which is substantially constant.

What we claim as our invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Apparatus for collecting cigarettes wherein cigarettes are periodically pushed from a receptacle, comprising a reciprocating pusher having an abtument connected thereto, means to urge the pusher yieldingly forward, a catch to hold the pusher against forward 1 movement until the catch is tripped, means to trip the catch at desired times, an elongated, endless, continuously movably element, means supporting said element for movement in the direction of its length, said element having a substantially straight run substantially parallel to the path of the pusher, and a member carried by the said element arranged to be engageable with the said abutment so as to be capable of causing slight backward movement of the pusher immediately prior to tripping of the catch to relieve frictional pressure on the catch at the time of tripping, and so as to be capable of effecting control over a stroke of the pusher and of enabling the pusher to move in the said stroke at a substantially constant speed.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the said member comprises a roller{ 3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the said abutment has a curved cam surface with which the said roller engages and which provides a lead for the roller, whereby the said slight backward movement of the pusher is effected gradually.

4. Apparatus for collecting cigarettes wherein cigarettes are periodically pushed from a receptacle, comprising a reciprocating pusher having an abutment connected thereto, an elongated endless continuously movable element, means'supporting said element for movement in the direction of its length, said element having a substantially straight first run along which it can move with a component of movement in a forward direction, and a further run along which it can move with a component of movement in a rearward direction opposite to the said forward direction a member carried by the said element arranged to be engageable with the said abutment, and pusher-urging means separate from the said element to urge the pusher yieldingly in said forward direction so that, as said member travels along said first run of said element, the pusher can move in a pushing stroke urged forwardly by said pusher urging means and with its forward movement controlled by engagement of said abutment with said member, and as said member travels along said further run of said element after a pushing stroke, said member can engage said abutment to move the pusher rearwardly in a return stroke against the tion of said pusher-urging means.

5. Apparatus for collecting cigarettes wherein cigarettes are periodically pushed from a receptacle, comprising a reciprocating pusher having an abutment connected thereto, an elongated endless continuously movable element, means supporting said element for movement in the direction of its length, said element having two oppositely directed parallel runs substantially parallel to the path of the pusher, .a member carried by the said element arranged to be engageable with the said abutment, and pusher-urging means separate from said element to urge the pusher yieldingly in a forward direction so that, as said member travels forward along one of said runs, the pusher can move in a pushing stroke urged forwardly by said pusher-urging means and with its forward movement controlled by engagement of said abutment with said member, and as said member travels rearward along the other of said runs after a pushing stroke, said member. can engage. said abutment to move the pusher rearwardly in a return stroke against the action of said pusher-urging means. 1

6. Cigarette-collecting. mechanism wherein cigarettes are periodically pushed by a reciprocating pusher, comprising a pusher having an abutment connected thereto, a catch to hold the pusher against forward movement until the catch is tripped, an elongated endless, continuously movable element, means supporting said element for movement in the direction of its length, said element having two substantially straight, oppositely directed runs which are substantially parallel to the path of the pusher, a member carried by the said element arranged to be engageable with said abutment, and pusherurging means separate from said element to urge the pusher yieldingly forward so that, when the catch is tripped and as said member travels forward along one of said runs, the pusher can move in a pushing stroke urged forwardly by said pusher-urging means and with its forward movement controlled by engagement of said abutment with said member, and as said member travels rearward along the other of said runs after a pushing stroke said member can engage said abutment to move the pusher rearwardly against the action of said pusher urging means in a return stroke for re-engagement by the catch.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS FRANK E. BAILEY, Primary Examiner. 

1. APPARATUS FOR COLLECTING CIGARETES WHEREIN CIGARETTES ARE PERIODICALLY PUSHED FROM A RECEPTACLE, COMPRISING A RECIPROCATING PUSHER HAVING A ABUTMENT CON-I NECTED THERETO, MEANS TO URGE THE PUSHER YIELDINGLY FORWARD, A CATCH TO HOLD THE PUSHE AGAINST FORWARD MOVEMENT UNTIL THE CATCH IS TRIPPED, MEANS TO TRIP THE CATCH AT DESIRED TIMES, AN ELONGATED, ENDLESS CONTINUOUSLY MOVABLY ELEMENT, MEANS SUPPORTING SAID ELEMENT FOR MOVEMENT IN THE DIRECTION OF ITS LENGTH, SAID ELEMENT HAVING A SUBSTANTIALLY STRAIGHT RUN SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO THE PATH OF THE PUSHER, AND A MEMBER CARRIED BY THE SAID ELEMENT ARRANGED TO BE ENGAGEABLE WITH THE SAID ABUTMENT SO AS TO BE CAPABLE OF CAUSING SLIGHT BACKWARD MOVEMENT OF THE PUSHER IMMEDIATELY PRIOR TO TRIPPING OF THE CATCH TO RELIEVE FRICTIONAL PRESSURE ON THE CATCH AT THE TIME OF TRIPPING, AND SO AS TO BE CAPABLE OF EFFECTING CONTROL OVER A STROKE OF THE PUSHER AND OF ENABLING THE PUSHER TO MOVE IN THE SAID STROKE AT A SUBSTANTIALLY CONTACT SPEED. 